Yesterday marked my daughter, Tania’s 33rd birthday and as we gathered to celebrate I couldn’t help think how far the road since her birth has taken me. And her.
From the little green apartment that I had at 16 when she was born and her makeshift crib that was held together with twine to the people we are now-hardly seems we could be the same two people. The journey we have made to get here has been a long twisting road with many pot holes and road blocks along the way.
A young scared single mom with a sick baby has a hard time looking down the road and imagining that someday she will look into the eyes of a beautiful, kind generous, talented woman who is also a great mother in her own right and be able to say…
That’s my baby.
If I had been given a glimpse in a crystal ball of that baby’s grown up shining face, surrounded by her family right before she blew out the candle on her 33rd birthday cake, I would have slept SO much better those many nights in her hospital room, watching her tiny asthmatic lungs fight for air.
And she is only my oldest. Three others and two grandkids follow behind to bless me with their own version of sleepless nights.
It’s a wonder a parent ever sleeps at all.
It’s difficult to think about Living Inspired when worry, trials and troubles are set in our path. Being a parent is just one example. The job market, money worries, health issues, lack of time, parents getting older, relationship conflicts-all conspire to set up very real roadblocks to seeing inspiration and happiness when it can be right in front of us. Living in fear closes our eyes to the possibilities, makes the future difficult to imagine and puts a wall of despair in front of our face that makes it hard to see around.
We can’t visualize ourselves projected out into a future time when all will be right with the world and life will be good. We get stuck in the mud of the current quicksand and let it pull us under.
So how do we get ourselves out? How do we learn to get around the roadblocks and keep our commitment to Living the Inspired Life?
Remember that time is short.
I carried a small little sign with me in those early days. It went with me everywhere I went. It was the Armor I needed to keep me strong and not go under. It was the magic that helped me keep the faith that I could survive.
Four little words. Simple little words that kept me going day after day.
THIS TOO SHALL PASS.
Those words helped me to remember that everything we are going through is temporary. No matter how hard. It won’t last. It will evolve and change. It is the one constant in Life. Nothing stays static.It grows or it dies.
It takes a certain mindset to believe those words, but I believe virtually everything we are experiencing is a path to a greater place if we will allow it. I believe there are learning opportunities in all that we do. So instead of hunching down and closing our eyes in fear, if we realize that it is a temporary passing time and open our eyes to it, we can experience it fully, learning all that can be learned from the moments and then say goodbye. (I am also a firm believer in not wanting to experiencing life’s lessons more then once if I can help it.)
Remember that the Crystal Ball is Faith
I may not have had a crystal ball to tell me that my precious child was going to survive her asthmatically challenged childhood, but I had faith that she would. I refused to live every day frightened to my socks in fear. I wanted her to have as normal of a childhood as possible, doing as many of the same things as other kids did. She may not have been able to run ( at the time) but…she took dance lessons, swimming lessons,kick boxing lessons, sports…anything and everything she wanted to push the boundaries and live the life she dreamed of experiencing. Disabilities don’t have to hold us back. They only provide us with a new way of getting things done.
Remember the Work Around
If the path to your goal refuses to be straight, don’t despair. Open your eyes wider to new possibilities. Roadblocks are a creative person’s call to create. If it can’t be done the way it’s always been done, then by God, it’s time for something new. And sometimes- even IF- it can be done the old way- its STILL time for something new!
Last night Tania’s birthday gathering was supposed to be a fondue party for the family. All of the bread and fresh ingredients were purchased and the family gathered and for reasons too long to relate, it was discovered after the fact that the fondue pots had not made it to the party. Some suggested calling out for Pizza, it was no big deal. After all, we would still have fun. But the birthday girl loves fondue and the ingredients were there. And I am ten days into a commitment to Live Inspired. So…we gathered around and brainstormed how to have fondue without fondue pots. We found pots, we found racks to suspend them by, we found candles to light below. It may have not been as pretty but it was fondue. Or as my son Jesse said by the end of a night of laughing and joking at ourselves…perhaps it was better called Fon-Don’t. Whatever you call it we had an Inspired time because we refused to give up and give in.
Remember to laugh
When you can find the time to laugh, you can find the joy, when you can find the joy, you can find your inspiration. Laughter is contagious. If you have stopped laughing, go to where the laughter is. GO to where the happy people are. Fill yourself with joy. Be renewed. Roadblocks are draining and we must refill the tank.
On Purpose, by design, make it a goal to bring fun, laughter and joy back into your life. Play. Jump on the bed, mess things up, color out of the lines. Just let go. Breathe free. It’s amazing how much inspiration will find us if we take the time to open up the window of our soul and let some fresh air in with laughter and fun.
Remember to Share
Inspiration grows like a wildfire in groups of other inspired people. Napoleon Hill called it his Mastermind Principle. Find a group of like-minded people committed to living an Inspired Life and watch the fire burn with light and energy. WE are burning bright here and everyone’s welcome to join.
So please, its your turn…jump in and share your tips on how to beat the roadblocks to inspiration. Help us all stay Inspired!
Wendi Kelly is a coach who helps others live a transformed, inspired life. If you are ready to make a commitment to do the work and change your life, and will accept no more excuses on the way to living an extraordinary, transformed life, then click here.
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